MALDEN — So much could have gone wrong for St. John’s Prep Friday night.
The Eagles may have had a huge upper hand over Malden Cathoilic on paper, but they went into Brother Gilbert Stadium as they always do — as marked men. The 2-3 Lancers are always motivated when they play the Eagles.
And into the fourth quarter it was anybody’s game before the Eagles settled the issue with two late scores to win, 39-21.
Thus, The Prep goes into its game next Friday night at home against Catholic Memorial — the team it has defeated twice in two years to win Division 1 Super Bowls — with a little momentum. However, for most of Friday night’s game it was a real struggle.
“We didn’t play well,” said coach Brian St. Pierre. “We did a lot of things wrong, but it wasn’t just that. They (Malden Catholic) played really well. I think it’s the proximity of the two schools, and we’re in the Catholic Conference, but they really gave us a good game.
“We’ll have to play much better next week,” he said.
The game had an interesting subplot as the two quarterbacks (Jack Perry of St. John’s and Will Perry of MC) are cousins, both nephews of former Lancer great James Perry. Both had their moments. But as the game wore on, Lynn’s James Guy began to assert himself. Guy, a senior, ran the ball 15 times for 123 yards, most of them coming in the second half as the Eagles tried their hardest to get some separation from the hungry Lacers.
It started out as if it might be a cakewalk. On its first play from scrimmage, Jack Perry hooked up with Brown-bound Jackson Delaney for a 63-yard scoring pass. But the Lancers, after stalling on a long drive, came back on their next try, with Christian Fitzpatrick running up the far sideline on a sweep for a 68-yard drive.
Back and forth it went, with Perry hitting Stephon Patrick with a 13-yard strike. And that was all in the first quarter.
Things quieted down in the second quarter, but got going again in the third. St. John’s gave MC the break it needed, fumbling on its own 11. The Lancers accepted the gift and six plays later, it was Fitzpatrick snagging an 8-yard pass from Will Perry. The conversion made it 15-12.
Things really got hectic after that. St. John’s got a touchdown from Jesse Ofurie, who then caught the conversion pass, and the Eagles led 20-15. Then, in the fourth quarter, Ofurie caught a 42-yard strike from Jack Perry, running the last 25 virtually untouched into the end zone. The conversion attempt failed, and it was 26-15.
Undaunted, the Lancers wasted no time getting one back, on a 24-yard screen pass from Will Perry to Aiden Sweeney. The conversion attempt failed, but the Lancers were only down by five with 7:45 to go.
Guy, who had spent the entire second half setting up touchdowns for the Eagles, finally scored one and St. John’s led 33-21. A late score with time running out by Ofurie put six more points on the board for the Prep.
St. John’s Prep (5-0) takes on Catholic Memorial in a heavyweight battle Friday evening (6).
